Much of the motivation for the present invention arises from the needs of large commercial plant-production nurseries However, it will be appreciated that the resulting inventive solutions find use and application in a variety of dispensing and application environments such as for applying dry fertilizers and other dry granulated materials in the early stages of growth of open-area forestry and in general landscaping, and including the application of herbicides and pesticides in various situations.
Depending on the nature of the plants being grown, the climate and other factors, many large production nurseries have ongoing requirements such as the following:
a. The deposition of small individual quantities of dry particulate top dressings of fertilizers and sometimes pesticides and herbicides applied to the surface around plants growing in containers or in the ground, in both cases most usually in the open. These types of dressings are usually in the form of dry pellets or small spheres which range from about 3.0 mm to 5.0 mm (⅛th to ⅕th inch) in diameter, and are sometimes much finer particles.
b. The application of small individually-measured quantities of dry fertilizer pellets or prills in a process immediately following “dibbling”, which usually takes place in an immobile machine. In this latter process, containers for future plants are typically arranged in a row on a moving belt or rotating platform on a pot-filling machine. Immediately after each pot is filled with the growing medium, a hole is mechanically formed in the top of the growing medium for the specific purpose of receiving a small measured quantity of fertilizer, followed by a new plant.
Worldwide research to date has indicated that all current methods of measuring and applying such dry materials in small individual quantities in production nurseries are to some extent unsatisfactory.
In order to make these types of applications more efficient, equipment is required to perform such operations economically, accurately and quickly, while providing a higher degree of simplicity and reliability. Where the process occurs in the hands of the human operator, it is also required that the equipment be light and comfortable to use.